Strange Medical Malpractice Cases

Medical malpractice cases can be typical. But they can also involve less known and odd circumstances not usually seen. They can still result in compensation for the victims.

Being a victim of medical malpractice can be an awful ordeal, especially when it involves extreme negligence. As a Chicago medical malpractice law firm, we are intent on fighting for fair compensation for victims of medical malpractice.

The following are a few examples of some of the most notable cases of medical malpractice.

Rod in the back

While performing back surgery, one physician was unable to find the rods needed to complete the operation. Improvising, he removed the handle from a screwdriver and inserted it into the man’s back. A few days later, the screwdriver rod broke causing severe pain, and the patient died. His survivors eventually received a settlement of $5.6 million.

Catching fire

While undergoing surgery for a liver transplant, the patient’s heart stopped beating. During the emergency procedures to restart his heart, alcohol used to disinfect his skin caught fire, inflicting severe burns. In addition, the initial liver transplant failed to require another surgery. He sued the physicians, claiming their failed standard of care led to the burns and additional surgery.

Dennis Quaid’s twins

In 2007, Dennis Quaid’s wife Kimberly gave birth to twins. When they developed staph infections, they were to be treated with Heparin, a blood-thinning medication. Through a hospital pharmacy error, the twins received a dosage 1000 times the normal infant amount. Eventually, the twins made a full recovery, but Quaid and his wife sued the hospital and eventually settled for $750,000.

Julie Andrews’ voice

When Andrews underwent what was supposed to be routine surgery for the removal of nodules on her vocal cords, surgeons permanently damaged her voice, ending her singing career.

Brain surgery

Neurosurgeons in a Rhode Island hospital made their first incisions on the wrong side of the brain on three different patients. In the case of the first two, they corrected their mistake and proceed with the operations. The third patient, however, died from the botched surgery.

As a Chicago medical malpractice law firm, we know that conscientious physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers do all within their power to help their patients recover.  Yet a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University concluded that medical errors contribute to over 4,000 deaths every year.